Pickup Review

[pooo]

Hey guys, was surfing around other forums and some of them have a specific thread dedicated to pickup reviews. I thought since there’s been quite a lot of talk about pickup recommendations and stuff, why don’t we put our reviews of the pickups we use here?

Let’s make it more detailed than the reviews you get off harmony-central. They all say the same thing. Locally, I'm sure we have different opinions!

First up:

Dimarzio Air Norton (neck)

I have this installed in the neck of my heavily customized Aria Les Paul and yes, it lives up to its name as being one of the best aftermarket neck pickups available. It’s very sweet and smooth, definitely very Petrucci like. One of the songs I’ve managed to come close in terms of tone is the solos of Dream Theater’s “The Spirit Carries On”. Works pretty well with a mahogany body, rosewood fingerboard guitar. The highs really sing on this one.

Personally I feel it’s really nice to play instrumental ballads using this pickup. If you’re in a pumped up shred mood, the clarity is pretty good, you can hear the individual notes running. Sweep arpeggios come out clearly too, provided you play them correctly For chord work, the definition is there. Every chord is clear, even in higher gain settings.

The only thing I find lacking is the amount of harmonics I can get out of it. Strangely the pinch harmonic response isn’t that strong on my guitar, you’d hear something like a choked squeal at times. Then again, this might have something to do with my intonation and overall set up, which I’m gonna have a look at soon.


I really hope this thread works out and receives good response so everyone who's interested can benefit from these local reviews!

 

[pooo]

Here’s the next one.

Dimarzio Steve’s Special (bridge)

This is the current companion to the Air Norton (neck) in my Les Paul. As Dimarzio states it’s got a mid scoop, and it’s clearly audible. There’s even a little vocal quality to it, ya know, the Tone Zone “aw” thing, but this is much more subtle. It’s there, and I feel it is a nice touch.

My Les Paul is a little bright by nature, and the Steve’s Special, with the mid scoop, really makes the sound trebly. Individual notes sorta lack the “ommph”. They can’t sing nearly as well and can be a bit piercing, not to mention, thin sounding. Eq-ing on amp managed to take the treble down and make it a little more tolerable. It’s not really a long term situation for me as I prefer to leave the settings the same for all my guitars so I can hear the distinctively different tones from each.

However, I personally feel that the chord work is great with this pickup. Palm mutes have got that great chug and the bass notes feel tight, not wobbly as with some pickups. The definition is strong and you can hear the individual notes in the chords. All that makes this pickup really fun for rhythm work, but I find it lacking when tasked with lead work. I think that it sounds really close to the rhythm work of the song Rusty Nail by X Japan, but with a touch of treble more.

The “aw” is even audible on clean. It’s not really a nice thing to have when playing clean though. The notes aren’t as clear as those produced by the Air Norton (neck), but that’s the job of the neck pickup, to produce a better clean sound. It sounds a little better coil tapped and split to single coil. But I definitely would not recommend it for clean passages. There are other pickups better suited to that task.

 

[hay88]

i'm picing on dimarzio's fred hum

i used to haf it on neck position on an rg550 basswood body.

the fred is actually meant to be a bridge hum as wad joe satch initiated but i decided to experiment with it.
overall the fred is very warm and clean except for the thickest string which gets a little muddy at times...the strange thing is tt when u put your ear abt 1 m away from the amp u may hear extra sounds after each note but when u stay at least 2-3m away your playing seems to be very clean.
if you are a shredder and want to achieve the roundish yjm's tone this is the hum for you...

 

[stillwater]

Hi Poo, good review u've done. I dislike the fact that all reviews have to be all good an no bad. I like honest ones like yours.

Air Norton is also one of my fav neck pickup. As for steve's special, i think its treble is meant to compliment its counterpart. Find that its got a very sweet "mid-less" tone shreddable tone, but juz not my cup of tea personally. I think its a very good pickup though. Its responsible for Petruicci's clean, crispy clear sounds when he plays in the middle position, that trebly cutting tone when he switch to bridge position(fr neck) when he shreds.

 

[satch]

do u guys find air norton very dark?

 

[metallibeast]

I believe on most of JP's models the middle setting selects the inner coil of the neck and outer coil of his bridge which he uses for his clean.

-Beast

 

[pooo]

Dimarzio YJM (neck)

Currently installed in the neck position of my scalloped strat. Maple neck/fingerboard, alder body. I really have to begin by saying that this is one of the best single coils I’ve ever played overdriven.

Because it is stacked, it retains single coil qualities and yet keeps out the annoying 60 cycle hum as heard in standard single coils. Noise level is kept to a minimal but do take note, there IS some noise, not a lot, and certainly not enough to piss you off.

Being extremely low output, it allows for a more clean sorta sound. I run the strat through a preamp to boost the signal. If not you’ll just get a wimpy sound, which in my opinion isn’t really good for anything. Metal heads, stay away from this pickup. Unless you install an EMG SPC or something, it won’t make the cut. Keep the same settings on your amp on and switch guitars, a single coil equipped one to be fair, and you’ll notice that the volume drop is significant. You might have to alter the settings a bit to compensate for this.

Overdriven, as mentioned earlier, is smooth. Highs are particularly sweet up the neck, at the solo spots. Sweep arpeggios sing. The notes are clear. If you read the reviews off harmony-central, they all mention its violin sounding qualities. The pickup itself is very sweet, but the violin thing comes with the simultaneous use of the volume knob/pedal while picking so yea, it’s not really accurate. Works only if you know how to do it and do it right. If you don't then you'd probably wonder "where the hell is the violin quality?!"

When you roll back on the volume knob, the overdriven sound cleans up. Just pick lightly and you’ll get clean. Great for songs like “Like An Angel” between the solos and the verses. Shredders will love this pickup because you’ll be able to hear every single note being played, or choked =)

This pickup has survived through the era when I was playing punk/pop rock. Needed a lot more distortion to do the job. Not fantastic, but I managed to get by.

Clean, somehow I feel that it lacks some highs and clarity clean. A little duller if compared to various Fender American single coil models. This Malmsteen's signature pickup and after all, he doesn't play on clean, he has his acoustics for that. If you look at the Dimarzio website, you'd see that the bass and mids are of the same level, and highs slightly higher. The other single coil models have much higher amounts of highs, lower mids and even lower bass. I think thats the reason why it doesn't sound so nice on clean.

For all you Malmsteen fans, push this pickup through a DOD250 and into a Marshall and you’ll get close. Trust me on this one.



stillwater: thanks!

 

[CyanideJunkie]

i prefer:

Dimarzio Breed(neck)

Gives a good fat, chunky rhythm sound perfect 4 rhythm guitarists... sound is hot yet not muddy... gives good sustain as well...

Dimarzio Tone Zone/Seymour Duncan Full Shred(bridge)

Very versatile high output pickup with gd tonal quality (duh look at the name)... hook it up with a boss cs-3, blues driver n a dunlop crybaby(in tat order) and ur solos will really stand out... perfect for lead guitar...

if there's space in the middle... Air Norton for tat gibson model wif 3 hums or duncan hot rail for guitars with H-S-H combination... for S-S-H types i recommend a duncan little '59 n and dimarzio HS-3(any order would do fine) plus tone zone or full shred...

i personally like these combinations coz they can suit anythin from 70s-80s rock to punk to metal to country to blues(haven't tried jazz yet but i dun think it'll work out though)... emgs dun really work 4 me coz i hate to change the battries... the passive ones are too restricted to metal imo... however this combination is best used only in solidbody guitars coz semi-hollow bodys will diminish or 'dilute' the sound... n u can can only get the best out of these pups if u run the signals thru a 30watt n above amp... the onli 15watt tat can cut it is either a marshall or crate... though line 6 does a gd job tryin i still prefer a marshall... plus its sturdier (remember The Who? :wink: )

 

[dric]

Eh, i'll do the DiMarzio Breeds for bridge then, since junkie did the neck. I've got breeds for neck n bridge installed on my rg.

K, it's great. Sounds really nice n sharp with pinch harmonics. That's one thing i really like about it. This thing is great for harmonics, pinch, or natural, or artificial, whatever harmonics it sounds great! Doesn't have some of the distorted tone of some pickups when doing harmonics. Quite sensitive to the harmonics actually.

Gd for songs like scarified and maybe collorado bulldog.

The nice hot, distinct tone you want in a bridge pickup is definitely there.

However, the clean tone using this humbucker isn't very "round". It is clear, but it doesn't have that strong feel you want the audience to hear.

So overall, 9/10

 

[subversion]

Seymour Duncan's Invader humbucker, is one of the most intimidating pickup on offer by the manufacturer. many players would venture to try it by virtue of its ferocious reputation but it's capable of other tones as well.

if you bought the Invader because you are after high gain, then you are on the right track. this pickup was conceived to react immaculately to high gain settings. also, if you are after more bass, the Invader is the answer- unsurpassed low end with this one. contrary to popular belief, the Invader does not give off a scooped tone. a quick reference to the Duncan pickup chart would reveal that the midrange actually exceeds the bass. so how come you hear lots of low-end rumbling, you ask? that's because the treble end is severely trimmed to give more emphasis to the remaining frequencies. having this humbucker in your guitar, be sure to watch your EQ settings, any more bass enhancement & you'll be bogged down by ill-defined individual notes.

as you can see, i have the Invader in the bridge position of my Ibanez S540. i bought this humbucker to essentially offset the mahagony's inherent bright tones & it's unfinished nature, the pickup did just that. the Invader excel in high drive settings with lots of harmonics to offer. please do not even consider the Invader for clean tones, Duncan has other models to choose from for this need. also, don't even try to tame the Invader by rolling off your volume pot, it wasn't concieved to be that tame...

extreme drive aside, if you wish for a smooth, fusion tone, the Invader is equally capable, however, it won't manifest full chording very well. for this specific intention, the Invader would perform better with an EQ supplement. i bought the Invader to max-out on bass note chugging (excellent for black metal riffs...) & it's a very suitable tool for that 8)

 

[Bruce]

btw how much do the SD hotrails cost? i want sumthin like a single coil sized humbucker kinda pup for my strat, what do u recommend? hotrails, lil 59 and wat else ah?

 

[subversion]

Duncan Hotrails would be about $130 (lats year's list price...).

hot rails has a comparable bass response to the Invader, if you want more mids, try the Lil Screamin' Demon/ Lil JB.

Late last year, Dimarzio released its single coil sized Tone Zone pickup, you might wanna check that out... 8)

 

[subversion]

Seymour Duncan Custom Custom (SH-11)

the CC is a wonderful humbucker. it's a derivative of the Custom model, hence maintaining the smooth bottom end but the difference lies with the treble. the CC features a very aggressive top end but nothing useless i must say. the overall tonal performance would appeal to high gain & blues-crunch players alike. it's absolutely possible because the CC is a high output unit with an alnico II magnet at the helm... 8)

this interesting combo ensures that things don't get too overpowering at times. however, if you are accustomed to the Custom's very buttery tone, the CC's high end is an acquired taste. unlike the Custom, the CC fares better at clean tones (in a solid body), that's the magic of using a less powerful magnet in a hard-rocking pickup.

i have the CC in my Ibanez SZ320 (pic above), pairing it up with a neck Alnico Pro II. the CC sounds bright inherently, so watch you treble @ the amp. however, the CC's strong top & bottom frequencies ensure that my AIIPro don't get tempered too much especially when there's only one EQ palette at the amp to serve 2 humbuckers. in isolation, the CC best brings out the bottom end distorted chugs which are metal-heads staples, with a bit more definition. roll the volume off & that's when the CC becomes very sweet, very similar to the tone of a clean unit getting a tube screamer supplement.

if you play clean all the time & look forward to have it in maybe a semi/ hollowbody unit, then i'd advise otherwise. non-solid bodies have a naturally induced high freq, adding the CC in there might result in an overdose of top end freq.

 

[subversion]

Seymour Duncan Custom 5 (SH-14)
this is the missing link between the Custom & Custom Custom. the C5 is actually a product which was made by Duncan after reading inputs @ the Duncan forum- if only there were more manufacturers who listen to their customers... :roll: there was a buzz of how unique the Custom/ CC sounded with an alnico5 magnet- the Custom5 was born...

after days of testing, i'm convinced that the C5 is actually an in-between offering, a product which possesses characteristics of both the Custom & CC. the C5 has a less striking top end, instead it's polished to balance nicely with the low freq. unlike its 2 other siblings, the C5 has a lower output, it won't break up as easily under higher volume settings. however, at high gain settings, i'm able to acquire harmonics as easily as other higher output units & the C5 did well to retain a full bottom end albeit a reduced lower freq response- nothing a simple EQ pedal couldn't cure. it won't be the proverbial metal humbucker as it seems but it's capable of keeping up.

coming to clean tones, i must say that it has a rounder tone compared to the CC, attributable to the clipped top end. chords won't be as muffled as the Custom's because the low freq aren't as overpowering, it's just nice. if you are a jazz cat & hopes that the C5 would give you a nice comping tone- not quite. for this task, i'd say that the C5's midrange needs to be tamed to give a warmer response. if you like the PAF tone & wish for a more rounder bottom end, nothing excessive, the C5 would sing your tune 8)

pictured above: C5 (bridge) + Alnico II Pro (neck)

 

[pooo]

dric: Could you please do reviews for the neck as well? Thanks!

The idea here's to review pickups in your guitar. Different pickups sound different with different guitar woods so yea, the more reviews the better! It'll help those tone seekers narrow down to what they want much easier.

Keep the reviews coming in!!! :wink:

 

[subversion]

keep in mind that a good amp would supplement your pickup's tone. no use swapping your default units with spectacular models only to be let down by a tranny amp... :roll:

 

[goldie]

Seymour Duncan's Invader humbucker, is one of the most intimidating pickup on offer by the manufacturer. many players would venture to try it by virtue of its ferocious reputation but it's capable of other tones as well.

if you bought the Invader because you are after high gain, then you are on the right track. this pickup was conceived to react immaculately to high gain settings. also, if you are after more bass, the Invader is the answer- unsurpassed low end with this one. contrary to popular belief, the Invader does not give off a scooped tone. a quick reference to the Duncan pickup chart would reveal that the midrange actually exceeds the bass. so how come you hear lots of low-end rumbling, you ask? that's because the treble end is severely trimmed to give more emphasis to the remaining frequencies. having this humbucker in your guitar, be sure to watch your EQ settings, any more bass enhancement & you'll be bogged down by ill-defined individual notes.

as you can see, i have the Invader in the bridge position of my Ibanez S540. i bought this humbucker to essentially offset the mahagony's inherent bright tones & it's unfinished nature, the pickup did just that. the Invader excel in high drive settings with lots of harmonics to offer. please do not even consider the Invader for clean tones, Duncan has other models to choose from for this need. also, don't even try to tame the Invader by rolling off your volume pot, it wasn't concieved to be that tame...

extreme drive aside, if you wish for a smooth, fusion tone, the Invader is equally capable, however, it won't manifest full chording very well. for this specific intention, the Invader would perform better with an EQ supplement. i bought the Invader to max-out on bass note chugging (excellent for black metal riffs...) & it's a very suitable tool for that 8)

hi subversion,
what is the neck pickup of this guitar? is it full shred? can you give the review as well..thanks